Sighting of Red-breasted Parakeet Psittacula alexandri (Linnaeus, 1758) (Psittaciformes: Psittaculidae) from Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Red-breasted Parakeet is one among the most widespread parakeets of the world. The ‘Near Threatened’ bird has been in pet trade for long and is already known as a feral bird from major cities in India. The biodiversity of India has been threatened by many alien invasive species and some have been of a serious threat to native species pushing them to extinction. Though Red-breasted Parakeet with a limited population in many of the cities is of no immediate threat, an increase in population can be of serious threat to native bird species. In this paper, we report the new sighting of Red-breasted Parakeet from Vellayani-Punjakari wetlands, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and discuss the possible threats this particular species can impart to the native bird diversity.